Upper garment eyewear retaining system

ABSTRACT

A wearable eyewear retaining system is provided. The wearable eyewear retaining system is embodied in an upper garment, wherein the upper garment includes at least one grommet adapted to securely hang eyewear by sliding an arm thereof through the grommet. A cloth element for the lenses of the eyewear may be provided by the upper garment, wherein the grommet and cloth element may be disposed along the upper garment to evoke the aesthetics of a driving shirt.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/363,889, filed 19JUL. 2016, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to accessories eyewear and, more particularly, an upper garment eyewear retaining system.

Eyewear, such as pairs of glasses, sunglasses and the like, play an important part in many people's life. Prescription glasses, for example, are a necessity for those who are near or far sighted. Sunglasses are recommended for almost everyone on sunny days and eyewear lenses with a transition coating (transition lenses) combine the protection of sunglasses with prescription lenses as well. More importantly, their job is to protect the eyes from the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays, glare, eyestrain, and other well documented benefits which have necessitated an increased reliance on said eyewear. What to do with such eyewear when they are not in use, however, can be an inconvenience if not an opportunity to lose or damage said eyewear. Carrying cases can be bulky, clumbsy to carry, and because of the necessity of a mechanical hinge, may break when needed most, and they too can be lost. Searching for eyewear while driving is dangerous as the driver's focus and vision leave the road.

Ideally, an individual could retain their eyewear integrated onto an article of clothing that they are actively wearing, and thus obviate the need to lug around a carrying case or keep track of the last place the user placed their eyewear. Unfortunately, this currently is not the case. Probably because glasses cases usually have a second function—storing a glasses cleaning cloth—explains why they continued be carried separately.

To date, grommets have not been integrated with an upper garment's collar for the design and use of holding a wearer's eyewear. Furthermore, integration of industrial woven carbon fiber cloth into said upper garment is also novel and provides a secondary means of holding a wearer's eyewear when storage of the eyewear in the front is not desirable.

As can be seen, there is a need for upper garment eyewear retaining system that does just that. Moreover, there is a need for an upper garment eyewear retaining system that increases driving safety, wherein the driver-wearer can locate and manipulate their eyewear without fumbling for them and without taking their eyes off the road, enabling the use and storage of eyewear during vehicle operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, wearable eyewear retaining system includes an upper garment adapted to be worn on a torso of a human wearer; at least one grommet, each grommet circumscribing a void in the upper garment; and a cloth element integrated into the upper garment.

In another aspect of the present invention, the wearable eyewear retaining system includes an upper garment adapted to be worn on a torso of a human wearer; the upper garment having a head-receiving hole along an upper portion thereof; a collar disposed along a portion of the head-receiving hole; at least one grommet, each grommet circumscribing a void in the collar; and a cloth element integrated into the upper garment, wherein the cloth element is adapted to be located between the shoulder blades of the wearer when said upper garment is worn, and wherein the cloth element is stiffer and less malleable than the upper garment.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood referencing the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a detail view of a grommet-eyewear engagement of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a detail view of a cloth element-eyewear engagement of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a wearable eyewear retaining system embodied in an upper garment adapted to be worn by a human user, wherein the upper garment includes at least one grommet adapted to securely hang the eyewear by sliding an arm thereof through the grommet. A cloth element may be provided by the upper garment, wherein the grommet and cloth element may be disposed along the upper garment to evoke the aesthetics of a driving shirt.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 4, the present invention may include an eyewear retaining system 50 embodied in an upper garment 10. The upper garment 10 may form a head-receiving opening 12, a torso-receiving opening 14 and a pair of opposing arm-receiving holes 16. The upper garment 10 may be dimensioned and adapted to accommodate a human wearer, and may be any design (short sleeve, long sleeve, full length, cut-off, collared, t-shirt, and the like) as long as it functions in accordance with the present invention as disclosed herein. The upper garment 10 may be made from any fabric material generally suitable for an upper garment.

The upper garment 10 may provide at least one retainer 20 disposed along an upper portion thereof. The retainer 20 may be an arcuate rigid element circumscribing a void in a portion of the upper garment 10, in certain embodiments a grommet or eyelet made of metal or plastic. The retainer 20 can be any color placed on either side of the upper garment 10. The void diameter and thus the inner diameter of the retainer 20 (grommet/eyelet) may be 12.0 mm or 15.0 mm or 17.0 mm or other specific dimensions to accommodate different sizes of eyewear. The specific disposition of the at least one retainer 20 may be variable. For example, the retainer 20 may be placed along the upper portion so as to be also used as ornamental elements of an innovative, unique, and brand identifiable design by affixing the elements to collared shirts at specific points designed for driving. In other embodiments, the at least one retainer 20 may be adorned near the left or right front corners of the neck collar 16 disposed along at least a portion of the head-receiving opening 12, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The at least one retainer 20 may be adapted to retain eyewear 40 wherein an arm of the eyewear 40 may be slidably received therein so that the eyewear 40 securely hang from the retainer 20 under the force of gravity, whereby the at least one retainer 20 becomes a functioning eyewear holder as illustrated in FIG. 3.

One or more cloth element 30 may be affixed to or incorporated into a portion of the upper garment 10. The cloth element 30 may be a woven carbon fiber cloth material of any shape or size desired, wherein the carbon fiber material is adapted as a secondary means of retaining the glasses and the lenses of eyewear 40 when the retainer 20 may not be desirable for some wearer activities. In certain embodiment, the cloth element 30 may be disposed near the center of the back of the upper garment 20, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The cloth element 30 may be stiffer and not as malleable as the remaining portion of the upper garment 10. The cloth element 30 may form an opening, a pocket or other form of separation from the upper garment 10 so as to slidably retain an arm of the eyewear 40 under the force of gravity, whereby the cloth element 30 becomes a functioning eyewear holder as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Each cloth element 30 may be material adapted to accentuate and elevates the aesthetics of the upper garment 10. In certain embodiments, the cloth element 30 may be made from a 3 inch by 3 inch minimum piece of repurposed industrial strength woven carbon fiber as a cloth and affixed to upper garment 10 by stitching. It should be understood that industrial woven carbon fiber is used in automotive and motorsport manufacturing and its repurposing also integrates its industrial use as a design element of a driving shirt. In other embodiments, the cloth element 30 may be a cloth label for identifying a brand, logo or the like. Furthermore, the at least one retainer 20 may be the repurposing of a metal, plastic, or rubber grommet as a functional and usable design element, whereby when integrated with the affixed carbon fiber accentuates and elevates the automotive and motorsport design nature of certain embodiments of the upper garment 10.

A method of making the present invention may include the following. Woven carbon fiber cloth elements 30 in raw form as a malleable textile may be cut to the desired shape and sewn onto the upper garment 10. One retainer 20 may be fastened to the collar of the upper garment 10 using a mechanical press. The woven carbon fiber cloth element 30 can affixed into one or more ornamental shapes and affixed to different locations comprising a new design. Grommets 20 can be affixed to left collar, or right collar, or back of collar or all three, and or other combinations thereof to change the functional design.

A method of using the present invention may include the following. The upper garment 10 disclosed above may be provided. A user may don the upper garment 10. When the user wants to retain their eyewear when not in use, they may slide an arm thereof through the retainer 20 or carbon fiber cloth element 30 for securely hanging the eyewear 40 therefrom, providing a hands-free method of eyewear storage and retrieval while walking, driving or sitting.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A wearable eyewear retaining system, comprising: an upper garment adapted to be worn on a torso of a human wearer; at least one grommet, each grommet circumscribing a void in the upper garment; and a cloth element integrated into the upper garment.
 2. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 1, wherein each void is adapted to be located above the wearer's solar plexus when said upper garment is worn.
 3. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 1, wherein the cloth element is adapted to be located between the shoulder blades of the wearer when said upper garment is worn.
 4. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 1, further comprising: a head-receiving hole along an upper portion of the upper garment; and a collar disposed along a portion of the head-receiving hole, and wherein one void is located in the collar.
 5. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 1, wherein the cloth element is repurposed industrial strength woven carbon fiber.
 6. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 1, wherein the cloth element is stiffer and less malleable than the upper garment.
 7. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 1, wherein the cloth element provides an opening defined in part by the upper garment.
 8. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 1, further comprising an eyewear having at least one arm, wherein each arm is adapted for being slidably retained in one void.
 9. A wearable eyewear retaining system, comprising: an upper garment adapted to be worn on a torso of a human wearer; the upper garment having a head-receiving hole along an upper portion thereof; a collar disposed along a portion of the head-receiving hole; at least one grommet, each grommet circumscribing a void in the collar; and a cloth element integrated into the upper garment, wherein the cloth element is adapted to be located between the shoulder blades of the wearer when said upper garment is worn, and wherein the cloth element is stiffer and less malleable than the upper garment.
 10. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 9, wherein the cloth element is repurposed industrial strength woven carbon fiber.
 11. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 9, wherein the cloth element provides an opening defined in part by the upper garment.
 12. The wearable eyewear retaining system of claim 9, further comprising an eyewear having at least one arm, wherein each arm is adapted for being slidably retained in one void. 